1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field neurological rehabilitation including traumatic spinal cord injury, non-traumatic spinal cord injury, stroke, movement disorders, brain injury, and other diseases or injuries that result in paralysis and/or nervous system disorder. Devices, pharmacological agents, and methods are provided to facilitate recovery of posture, locomotion, and voluntary movements of the arms, trunk, and legs, and recovery of autonomic, sexual, vasomotor, and cognitive function, in a human subject having spinal cord injury, brain injury, or any other neurological disorder.
2. Description of the Related Art
Serious spinal cord injuries (SCI) affect approximately 250,000 people in the United States, and roughly 11,000 new injuries occur each year. Of these injuries, approximately 50% are complete spinal cord injuries in which there is essentially total loss of sensory motor function below the level of the spinal lesion.
For chronic SCI humans, impressive levels of standing and stepping recovery has been demonstrated in certain incomplete SCI subjects with task specific physical rehabilitation training. A recent clinical trial demonstrated that 92% of the subjects regained stepping ability to almost a functional speed of walking three months after a severe yet incomplete injury (Dobkin et al., Neurology, 66(4): 484-93 (2006)) and in chronic subjects months to years after injury (Harkema et. al., Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: 2011 epub). Furthermore, improved coordination of motor pool activation can be achieved with training in patients with incomplete SCI (Field-Fote et al., Phys. Ther., 82 (7): 707-715 (2002)). On the other hand, there is no generally accepted evidence that an individual with a clinically complete SCI can be trained to the point where they could stand or locomote even with the aid of a “walker” (Wernig, Arch Phys Med Rehabil., 86(12): 2385-238 (2005)) and no one has shown the ability to regain voluntary movements and/or to recover autonomic, sexual, vasomotor, and/or improved cognitive function after a motor complete spinal cord injury.
To date, the consistently most successful intervention for regaining weight-bearing stepping in humans is weight-bearing step training, but that has been the case primarily in subjects with incomplete injuries.
The most effective future strategies for improving motor and autonomic functions that improve the quality of life post-SCI will likely involve the combination of many different technologies and strategies, as neurological deficits such as spinal cord injuries are complex, and there is a wide variability in the deficit profile among patients. In the long run, neuro-regenerative strategies hold significant promise for functional sensory-motor recovery from traumatic and progressive neurological deficits. Progress is already being made particularly in the case of acute treatment of incomplete spinal injuries. However, even when these strategies are perfected, other remedies will be needed. It is naive to think that neuro-regenerative approaches will recover fully functional postural and locomotor function as well as voluntary control of lower limb, and voluntary upper limb movement following a motor complete spinal injury.